Ensuring the safety of both children and adults and meeting all statutory requirements are big pressures… especially at this time of year as you review your policy and distribute it to staff. It comes as no surprise that our health and safety model policy is so popular!

We’ve teamed up with a group of lawyers and updated this policy. All you need to do is download it, fill in the gaps and you can be confident that you are meeting all legal expectations.

The sheer range of areas to cover may seem daunting but our model policy outlines everything comprehensively so you will be confident you have everything covered.

Our up-to-date-resource covers:

safe behaviour and school code of conduct

maintenance of safety records

safety review, monitoring, and evaluation procedure

accidents

lone workers

building and site maintenance

environmental statement

fire safety and evacuation procedures

emergency procedures

health and safety training

workplace safety

control of substances hazardous to health (CoSHH)

occupational health services and managing work-related stress

policy and procedure for off-site visits

selecting and managing contractors

security.

Schools have a duty to ensure the safety of those who work, attend or visit the premises or take part in an offsite activity. Use this model policy as a template to write one for your school, adding details specific to how your school operates and the activities that are undertaken. All members of staff should be familiar with it, and the statement of intent at the beginning of the policy should be on public display.

The document includes instructions that will help you complete each section of the policy:

blue boxes contain advisory notes that can be deleted after you have finished writing the policy.

grey text indicates where you need to fill in specific details, such as the name of your health and safety coordinator.

Government on side

It’s also great to know that the government is on our side. In its report, the DfE announced that it was ‘determined to reduce burdens on schools’. The report added: ‘We want to simplify health and safety requirements and explain them better.’

The government is also making it easier for schools to take pupils on trips, removing paperwork and taking steps to reduce teachers’ fears of legal action. ‘Teachers should be confident that they know best how to look after pupils and keep them safe.’

And, of course, if you think it’s necessary to ban cartwheels, we’ll leave that entirely up to you.

Similar Posts

Alas, for many SBMs, this summer holiday will involve more contractors and collateral warranties than camping and cruises. Check out our expert advice to help your building projects run smoothly. I’m starting to think that school business managers might actually be superhuman. Not only do they have...

Lizzie Gait explores the key steps for carrying out a robust risk assessment to ensure staff and pupil safety, and full compliance with your obligations. Keeping up with the legal obligations of a school can be difficult for school business managers, especially since it doesn’t always fall under...